Role of Pakistan National Congress as an Opposition Political Party: An Analysis

Abstract

Opposition is usually taken as the critical element to keep the sitting government of the parliamentary system on the right path. Pakistan National Congress (PNC), the country's first opposition party role is worth exploring in the context of formative years of the country’s political history. This article aims to appraise the role performed by the PNC in the first legislative decade by discussing the creation, structure, administration, and strategy of the party as a coalition partner in federal and provincial administrations of East Pakistan. This study evaluates the role of the Pakistan National Congress as an opposition party, using a qualitative research approach, relying on historical documents, and archival records. The study fills a research gap by exploring the historical context of opposition politics in Pakistan, providing valuable insights for understanding the evolution of opposition politics in the country and highlighting the challenges faced by opposition parties, which have been largely overlooked in the existing literature that focuses on contemporary politics. The findings reveal that PNC faced significant challenges, including internal fragmentation, external pressure, and personal motives, which weakened its role as an opposition party despite being a coalition partner in federal and provincial governments in East Pakistan.